Dental bridge



Allg; 2&6, 1930. C, Q MlLLER 1,774,449

' DENTAIL BRIDGE r,Original Filed Sept. 18, 1925 I N VEN TOR.

7eme/7% G /17/7/6/ A TTORNEY Patented Aug. ze, 1930 CLEMENT e. MILLER, or Kansas Ci'rY, ivirssonnr DENTAL BRIDGE Original application iled September 18,1925, Serial No. 57,152.- Divided and 1928. Serial No. 286,985y

My inventionrelates to dental bridges and more particularly to means for supporting an articial tooth from adjacent teeth, the principal objects of the invention being to support an artificial tooth from thek mesial and distal portions of adjacent teeth, to minimize the amount and extent of metal required for a bridge, and particularly to provide means for mounting an all porcelain tooth in fa dental bridge.

, The present application is a division of my co-pending application Serial No.A 57,152, liled September 18, 1925, wherein a bridge was disclosed including an artificial tooth having sockets in its mesial and distal portions, and a retaining member provided with portions receivable by said sockets and opposite portions adapted to be soldered to abutments for supporting the tooth from the abutments. When an -artiicialy tooth is broken, or removed, Whether supported by rmeans disclosed in said application, or by other usual retaining means in fixed bridge work, the supporting members must ordinarily be removed from their intimate engagement with abutments in order that said members, or similar ones, may be suitably adjusted to and engaged with the replacing tooth.

A further object of my invention, therefore, is to facilitate the replacement of a bridge tooth, and particularly tol provide means for mountinga replacement tooth on retaining members already secured to Vabutments, and anchoring the replacement tooth. In accomplishing these andother objects of the invention I have provided improvedfdetails of structure, the preferred forms kof which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective front view of an inverted tilted model of upper human teethr illustrating a posterior upperybridge embodying my invention, a replacement tooth being illustrated-as separated from the support and in position for installation. i

F ig. 2 is a perspective view of spaced teeth provided with' retainers, members and a replacement tooth in position for mounting on retainers. l

and supporting j this application iiled .Tune 20,

Fig. 3 is a slightly enlarged perspective view of the retainers and supportingmembers in positions similar to those shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a molar toothv verted model of upper teeth similar to Fig.`

l, but illustrating an anterior upper bridge, a replacement tooth being shown in position for installing on the supporting members.

' F ig. 6 is a detail perspective view from the lingual and mesial sides of an upper anterior replacement tooth and a supporting member theretor,'shown related but separated.

Fig. '7 is a detail' perspective view of the bridge shown in Fig. 5, the support and replacement tooth being shown separated from the abutments and retainers.

Referring in detail to the drawings:

l designates a. portion of a denture, 2 an articial bicuspid, 3 a naturalincisor spaced from the bicuspid by an interval 4, the incisor beingillustrated as provided withY an artificial replacing portion 5, such as al gold inlay constituting an abutment. The bicuspid and incisor comprise vsupports Vfor an artificial tooth 6, as presently described, to occupy k'the interval 4, the artificial tooth in this instance posite sides of iin-artificial tooth `for' securing such tooth to the supportingteeth by attachz ing the retainers to the adjacent surfaces or' the teeth. VShould kan t to replace Vthe broken tooth.

The retainers'v are similar, eachk comprising a body l0 having an angular and preferablytriangular periphery including an ocmeans such as soldering Y l artificial tooth supn ported by the retainers be broken, the reclusal edge or shoulder 11 and an oppositely extending point portion 12, the occlusal edge extending horizontally and the point portion extending gingivally.

rllhe artificial tooth 6 is adapted for mounting between the teeth 2 and 3 on the retainers for support thereby and for this purpose said tooth is provided with vertical grooves or countersunk channels 18 in its mesial and distal sides, the grooves having widths substantially equal to the lateral dimensions of the retainers in installed position and extending from the gingival end of the tooth and terminating in stop walls 1a for engagement with the occlusal edges of the retainers. Additional grooves 15 are provided eountersunk in the bottoms of the grooves 18 to permit passage of the tooth over the protruding pins 9, a single groove 15 being preferably provided in each side of the tooth and wider than necessary merely to admit the pins, for a purpose presently disclosed.

Supporting and retaining members 16 and 17 constituting a feature of the present invention, are provided for engagement with the retainers 7 and 8 for additionally anchoring and supporting the tooth 6, and the tooth is adapted for niounting on and engagement with the members 16 and 17.

The members 16 and 17 are similar, each comprising a body 18 receivable in the inner groove 15 on one side of the tooth 6 and a liange-like plate 19 attached to the outer face of the body and which may be integral therewith.

The body 18 is narrower than the retainer with which it is associated but sufficiently wide to overlie the pins 9 laterally and has an upper edge 20 adapted to be spaced slightly below the upper limit of the upper edge of the retainer, and openings 21 to receive the pins 9, the body being preferably of such thickness that ther pins may extend substantially therethrough..

The inner grooves 15 of the tooth 6 are widened as above suggested for receiving the bodies 18 of the members 16 and 17 and the upper edges 2O of the body portions abut upper walls 22 of the grooves 15. rlhe plates 19 on the outer faces of the bodies are provided with notches 23 producing wings 24 adapted to receive and engage the gingival portions of the peripheries of the retainers, the gingival point portion 12 of a retainer seating in the notch of a plate. The plates 19 have substantially the same thickness at their upper ends as the retainers to lill the space between the bodies 18 and the pier teeth. y

rFhe structure recited provides, therefore7 that a. supporting member, such as 17, Fig. 2, may be mounted on a retainer, such as 7 with the pins 9 of the retainer extending into the openings 21 of the body and the notched plate engaging the lower portion of the rethe f tainer, the complementary support 16 being similarly mounted on the retainer 8 and bridge tooth 3. Y

rThe grooved replacement tooth 6 may then be mounted on the assembled support, the several parts and members being suitably attached to adjacent parts. For example, the apertured body with the attached plate may be threaded on the pins and the plate and body cemented to the retainer, and the tooth slidingly mounted over the supporting assembly and cemented thereto.

`.attention called to the speciiic construction and arrangement of the installation just described, wherein the retainers are illustrated as triangular and positioned with occlusal sides extending substantially horizontally, the pins being positioned horizontally in the retainers and the opposite sides meeting at a point toward the gingival edge.

ln Fig. l the groove 18 in the mesial side of a regla cement molar 25 has a substantially horizontal occlusal stop wall 14 for engaging the occlusal edge of a retainer and the pins 9 the retainer are positioned in horizontal alignment, the groove 15 in the tooth being adapted to permit passage of the pins upon -iounting of the tooth on the abutment-en- 'aged retainers. The point portion 12 of the e'ainer is received by the triangular notch 8 in the plate 19.

A plate portion 19 is preferably originally rectangular and has equal thickness throughout its length, and the body member 18 is also rectangular and likewise has equal thickness throughout its length.

rfhe plate portions 19 are suitably grouped and tapered toward their gingival ends as at 26, when installed, to reduce both thickness and width for conformity to the contour of the laterally tapering gingival end 28 of a replacement tooth, and the body members may also be tapered for the same purpose, as

at 27, so that the auxiliary memindicated bers 16 and 17 are countersunk in the replacement tooth. The shoulders 29 produced by the countersinking of the grooves 15 in the bottoms of the grooves 18 extend substantially in a vertical plane to receive plates 19. The grooves 18 have lessening ldepth toward `heir open gingival ends, due to the degree of convexity of the replacement tooth used, and the size of the tooth.

The supporting members may be adapted for any bridge position and a replacement toothmay be adapted to the altered arrangement of the retainers and auxiliary supports, Figs. 5 and 6 illustrating such an adaptation.

Fig. 5 illustrates another form of the bridge wherein spaced incisore 30 and 31 are provided with retainers having vertically aligned pins represented by the aligned openings 32 and 33 in the body member of the -.fuixiliary support, such arrangement being preferable in view ofthe relative narrowness of the mesial and distal sides of incisors and the replacement incisor 34 being provided with correspondingly narrow grooves.

' Fig. 6 illustrates an incisor wherein the grooves are relatively narrow due to the shape of the tooth and the retainers are positioned with one side 35 comprising a gingival edge extending horizontally, the plate 19 in this case having a horizontal edge 36 to receive lthe retainer. l

F ig. 7 illustrates the ,positiony and form of retainers adapted for attachment to abutments of teeth having relatively narrow mesial and distal sides, the pins extending in vertical alignment, the bodies of the auxiliary supports being relatively narrow and the plates having ho-rizontal edges whereby the relatively thin replacement tooth may be provided with comparatively narrow grooves.

In using the invention an artificial replacement tooth is provided suitable for the position it is to occupy and the auxiliary supporting members are provided adapted to iit on and engage the retainers already supported by the abutments of spaced teeth.

The replacement tooth is provided with grooves suitable for mounting it on the assembled support including the retainers and the auxiliary members. lIhe auxiliary members are cemented to the retainers already attached to the abutments, and thev replacement tooth is installed on these supports and properly secured thereto.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a bridge, in combination with spaced abutments and retainers attached to the abutments and having protruding pins, anchoring members having openings to receive the pins for support of the anchoring members from the retainers, and wing plates adapted members having openings to receive the pins for support of the anchoring members from the retainers, and wing plates adapted to engage the body portions or" the retainers, and a replacement tooth having grooves for receiving the retainers and countersunk grooves for receiving the anchoring members.

3. In combination wit-h a bridge including spaced abutments, retainers engaged with the abutments, and a replacement toothreceivable by the retainers for support from the abutments, anchors having means for engaging the retainers and adapted to receive the tooth for anchoring the tooth in abutmentsupported position.

li.' In combinationwith a bridge including l abutments, retainers'engaged with the abutments, and a grooved tooth adapted to en-` an abutment, a retainer secured to the abutment in iixed position and protruding horizontally therefrom, and a replacement tooth, tooth-anchoring means including a plate movable horizontally over the retainer into engagement therewith and adapted for engaging the tooth.

6. In combination with a bridge including spaced abutments and retainers secured to the abutments, anchoring means including a member movable into engagement with one of the secured retainers, and a lreplacement tooth slidably engageable with the retainers and having a groove for engagement with said retainer-engaged member.

7. In a bridge including spaced abutments, tooth supports attached to the abutments including vertical body portions and vertical plate portionshaving edges extending beyond the body portions, said plate portions having substantial thickness whereby they are adapted to afford support for a tooth, and a tooth having vertical grooves to receive the edges ofV the plate portions and verticalk groovesin the bottoms of the lirst named grooves to receive the body portions, said tooth having stop walls at the ends of said kgrooves in the occlusal third of the tooth to receive the occlusal edges oi' the supports for supporting the tooth from the abutments.

8. In a bridge including spaced abutments, retainers protruding horizontally from the abutments and fixed thereto, and a tooth having vertical grooves provided with the transverse stop Walls, anchoring means adapted to be mounted on the fixed retainers and including portions receivable in the grooves of` the tooth, one of said portions being adapted to engage one of said stop walls, whereby the tooth may be mounted on the assembled retainers and anchoring means for support from the abutments.

9. In combination with a tooth having stop walls in its occlusal third to receive corresponding-edges of a supporting bridge, a bridge including an abutment, a support for the tooth including a retainer attached to the f abutment, a tapered plate extending from the retainer toward the gingival end of the tooth mounted on the support, and a body having vertical edges spaced inwardly from the edges of the plate.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature. CLEMENT G. MULLER. 

